This month’s Brazos Locavore event will be on Saturday Nov. 5th at Village
Café in Downtown Bryan. Village Café will be creating a special lunch menu
featuring fresh local food! Along with lunch there will be a short
presentation from two local farmers. Brady Grimes, the farm manager for the
A&M Student Farm, will share about how students at A&M have started an
organic farm. Mike Richardson, from Richardson Farms, will share about his
family’s farm and how to order a great locally raised turkey for your
Thanksgiving meal (they also have chicken, duck, beef, lamb, and flour for
purchase year round).

So mark your calendar and plan to experience great food while supporting
local farmers!

When: Saturday November 5, 12:30 to 1:30

Where: Village Café in 210 West 26th Street in Downtown Bryan

More information online:

A&M Student Farm: http://studentfarm.tamu.edu/

About Richardson Farms: http://richardsonfarms.com/Farm_Information.htm

Richardson Farms meat order form: http://richardsonfarms.com/Order_Form.htm

Village Café: http://www.thevillagedowntown.com/

Our first farm tour for the fall season will be Sunday September 18th at 1pm!

Join us as we head to the Blackwood Educational Land Institute. Blackwood’s primary mission is education and particularly for young students. Check out their website for more information:http://www.blackwoodland.org/

Highlights of the tour will include a very mature organic chef’s garden (potage) and teaching lab for young students. Also they have high quality produce growing in a gorgeous garden that is as an example of how the home gardener can grow produce of much higher quality than store grown organic.

If you are interested in going on the tour join the carpool group leaving Brazos Natural Foods in Bryan at NOON!

We will head to south to Hempstead for a 1pm tour. There is a $10 donation recommended for this tour.

Please RSVP to Nathanael before Thursday Sept 15 at brazoslocavores@gmail.com

Here is a summary of the upcoming events:

Saturday Nov 5 12:30 – Locavore Lunch at Village Cafe

Early December - Pulletpallooza (Backyard Chicken Tour) and Fall Home Garden Tour

January - Millican Farm Tour – Hot house tomatoes

February - Wateroak Farms – Goat Dairy in Bryan

March - Locavore Lunch at Village Cafe

I have been slowly transforming my suburban backyard into a garden/orchard/vineyard. Really coming along after a few  years of building, planting, digging up (the wrong varieties), replanting (the right varieties) and generally just having fun. I learned so much on Locavore field trips about what to plant, how to plant and how to grow. The people who are making a living at this know their stuff.

Take a look at the pictures I have posted here and post some pictures of your own gardens!

This will be a great event for everyone interested in supporting good local food. We hope it will be the first of many similar lunches!

Cost: No cost to attend, food and drink will be available for purchase at Village Cafe

Who: Open to all, children welcome

What: Locavore Lunch featuring RoundAcre Farm

When: Saturday May 21, 2011 12:30 – 1:30 pm

Where: Village Cafe 210 W. 26th Street, Bryan, TX 77803 (Downtown Bryan)

Why: Help support the local food system and learn more about great local food

For more information contact Nathanael at brazoslocavores@gmail.com

The March trip will be a special treat for those of you who frequent the Brazos Valley Farmers’ Market, because Leaning Tree Farm is home to Lois and Garlin Vaughn, by far the largest vendor at the farmers’ market. The Vaughns have grown their farm as the demand has steadily increased at the market. They now provide a wide variety of vegetables, seasonal fruits, jams and jellies, and herbs.

Come visit the farm with us and see how they work their magic, turning the tiniest of seeds into the beautiful fruits and veggies we see every week at the farmers’ market. But be prepared for beauty – both the peach and plum trees should be blooming by the time we arrive. Here’s the scoop:

When: Sunday, March 27 (1:00 PM)

Where: Brazos Natural Foods (we’ll meet in the parking lot and carpool out to the farm). The farm is located just off of Hwy 6 south of College Station.

Everyone is welcome and don’t forget to bring the kids! These field trips are a wonderful opportunity to teach our little ones about where good food originates.

Please RSVP to Nathanael by Wednesday, March 23. This is so that I am able to provide enough maps to carpoolers as well as inform the farm as to how many people to expect. If you have any questions, just let me know. See you there!

P.S. Want to receive the latest news on upcoming field trips and events straight to your email? Join the Brazos Locavores Google Group.

Located 50 miles south of Bryan-College Station on 10.5 acres in Field Store Community, Texas, Blue Heron Farm specializes in fresh goat cheeses. The tour will cost $5 (max $20.00 per family) will start at 2pm. They have three mama goats, which may give birth in late Feb, so there may be babies. Christian & Lisa also allow everyone on the tour to milk a goat and sample lots of cheese.

Here’s the scoop:

* When: Sunday, February 27 (1:00 – 5:00) – TOUR STARTS AT 2PM, CARPOOL LEAVES AT 1PM.

* Where: Brazos Natural Foods (we’ll be meeting in the parking lot and carpooling out to Blue Heron Farms http://blueherontexas.com/ )

* RSVP: to brazoslocavores@gmail.com by Wednesday February 23^rd (this allows us to prepare the farm for the number of visitors)

Everyone is welcome, the trip cost is $5 per person, $20 per family, and don’t forget to bring the kids. These field trips are a wonderful opportunity to learn about where good food originates.

If you have any questions, just let me know. See you there!

ALSO . . . mark your calendar:

Monday Feb 21^st 10am to 3pm “Family Farms and Local Foods Education Day” in Texas State Capitol Austin, Texas for more information check outhttp://farmandranchfreedom.org/upcoming-meetings

Sunday March 27 1pm to 4pm – Leaning Tree Farm Tour – Popular Farmers Market Vendor near Millican, Texas

April Date TBD– Yonder Way Farm Tour (http://yonderwayfarm.com/) sustainably raised chicken, beef, and pork farm near Brenham

Saturday April 30^th 3pm to 7pm –On the Farm Dinner (tickets will be $40 – $50 per person) at Home Sweet Farm with Slow Food Austin – if you are interested please let us know. More information coming soon.

June – Peaches, blueberries, blackberries with Bluebird Orchard in Franklin, Texas

July – Business meeting – if you would like to be more involved with Brazos Locavores or would like to suggest new farms to tour let us know.

Tanya Miller of Millican Farms is well-known in these parts for her
amazing greenhouse operation (just 7 miles south of BCS) which brings
ripe juicy tomatoes to the Brazos Valley between January and May. Her
tomatoes can be found at the Farmers Market on Saturday morning, at
Village Foods in Bryan, and at the Kroger Grocery on Rock Prairie in
College Station.

But Millican Produce is more than tomatoes. The greenhouse is also
home to English cucumbers, watermelons, and herbs; while out in the
fields Millican Farms has 2 acres of land for their vegetable CSA.

Join the Brazos Locavores on January 30 and experience the magic of
ripe tomatoes in the middle of winter!

Here’s the scoop:

* When: Sunday, January 30 (1:00 – 4:00)
* Where: Brazos Natural Foods (we’ll be meeting in the parking lot
and carpooling out to Millican Farms http://millicanfarms.com/blog/)
* RSVP: to brazoslocavores@gmail.com by Wednesday January 26th
(this allows us to prepare the farm for the number of visitors)

Everyone is welcome, the trip is completely free, and don’t forget to
bring the kids. These field trips are a wonderful opportunity to teach
our little ones about where good food originates.

If you have any questions, just let me know. See you there!

Check out their website for more information: http://www.homesweetfarm.com/

Who : Everyone! The trip is FREE.

When : Sunday, Nov 21 (1 PM – 4 PM)

Where : Meet-up at Brazos Natural Foods (4303 S. Texas Ave in Bryan) and carpool out to the farm

RSVP : to Nathanael at brazoslocavores@gmail.com by Wednesday, Nov 17th

ALSO . . . mark your calendar.

Here are the dates for our upcoming tours:

• December 5, 1-6pm – Brazos Valley Pulletpalooza (learn about home chicken raising) – College Station and Bryan

• January 30, 1-4 pm – Millican Farms (Tomatoes and CSA) http://millicanfarms.com/ – 10 miles South of College Station

• February 27, 1-6pm – Blue Heron Farm (Goat cheese) http://www.blueherontexas.com/ – 46 miles in Field Store, TX north of Hempstead

Check out their website for more information: http://www.wildtyperanch.com/

Who : Everyone! The trip is free but we will be collecting donations to support the Milam County Food Pantry.

When : Sunday, Oct 24 (1PM – 5PM)

Where : Meet-up at Brazos Natural Foods (4303 S. Texas Ave in Bryan) and carpool out to the farm

RSVP : to Brad at brazoslocavores@gmail.com by Wednesday, Oct 20th so that I can print enough driving directions and alert the farm to the number of visitors.

For more information on the farm, visit their website (http://www.wildtyperanch.com/) . See you there!

ALSO . . . mark your calendar.

Here are the dates for our upcoming tours:

• November 21, 1-5pm – Home Sweet Farm (CSA and farmers market) http://www.homesweetfarm.com/ – 58 miles near Brenham

• December 5, 1-6pm – Brazos Valley Pulletpalooza (learn about home chicken raising) – College Station and Bryan

• January 30, 1-4 pm – Millican Farms (Tomatoes and CSA) http://millicanfarms.com/ – 10 miles South of College Station

• February 27, 1-6pm – Blue Heron Farm (Goat cheese) http://www.blueherontexas.com/ – 46 miles in Field Store, TX north of Hempstead

• All of their animals are pasture based
• No growth hormones
• No subtherapeutic antibiotics (the use of antibiotics for anything except for sickness)
• Animals raised compassionately
• All meats are USDA inspected

The buyers group will have access to all meats of their choice and quantity (provided they have enough). Once Richardson Farm has $100.00 worth of orders Mike will coordinate a delivery of the meat to the BCS (either to your home or a convenient location).

To learn more about Richardson farms and to see a list of their products and pricing go to www.richardsonfarms.com

For anyone who may have questions or would like to enroll, please contact Mike Richardson at 979-676-1864 or email @ richardsonfarms@ymail.com

By purchasing meats and eggs from Richardson Farms, the customer will get to form a relationship with the farmer/rancher, receive quality, fresh, flavorful and safe food from a local producer. Buying local food preserves the small family farm. Right now, there is no limit to the number of persons who can participate in the buying group.

Richardson farms is located in Northwestern Milam county. The current farm was purchased in 2000 by Jim Richardson. When the farm was acquired, the acreage was being farmed in cotton and corn by a tenant farmer. During the first year, we reclaimed many old barns and put the farm into action. Mike’s father, Jim Richardson, is a veterinarian with 30 plus years of experience. Before coming to Milam County, Jim worked in Cedar Park, TX, practicing small animal medicine. Before moving to Austin, he was a partner in a mixed animal practice in Bowie, TX. Jim’s passion continued for the land and animals was extended to. When he is not farming, Mike works as a firefighter/paramedic for the Bryan fire department. The family farm is run by Mike, Mike’s father, step-mother, Kay, and step brother, Lance.  With 197 acres Richardson farms provides compassionate care for their animals. All animals are permitted to “act according to their species.” Pigs are allowed to be pigs and so on! They believe that this compassionate care allows our animals to thrive while they are on the farm….resulting in quality, flavor and appeal.

Richardson farms was featured on the cover of Edible Austin’s Spring 2009 issue!